


Anger Issues

by Quiet_Shadow



Series: To Unite the Schools [3]
Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Gen, Locked Curse, Ranma-chan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7696561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiet_Shadow/pseuds/Quiet_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting roped by Kasumi into having a talk with their youngest sister (<i>okay, her big sister had bribed her, let's be honest</i>), Nabiki tries to address the true causes under Akane's hostility toward their possible step-mother. Oh, and let Akane knows about one of their Father's assumption about her while she's at it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anger Issues

**Author's Note:**

> So... I long hesitated posting other chapters, following the less than lukewarm reception the fic got over fanfiction.net last year. But I recently got back into a Ranma mood, and decided to give it another try -- even if I'm certain some people will keep bothering me should if they can. 

“Okay, Akane. Spit it. What’s your problem with Ranma?”

Akane Tendo paused, her spoon of ice cream halfway to her lips. She let it drop back in her bowl as she looked at the poker face of her older sister, Nabiki, with narrowed eyes. Ah. So here was the catch. She should have known her sister hadn’t proposed they go together out for ice cream without any ulterior motive. Eck, Nabiki had said she’d pay her share; that alone should have sent Akane running.

“I don’t see what you’re talking about,” she said frostily.

The older Tendo sister snorted. “Of course you don’t. Pull the other one, will you?” She put her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, looking at her cadet with an unusually serious expression. “You’re hurting Daddy, Akane,” she said simply. There was a flash of… something in Akane’s eyes. Nabiki, after a moment of consideration, decided it was a strange mix of vindication, satisfaction and shame. Ah. So it was as she feared then. She leaned back in her seat with a sigh. “Akane, do you honestly think your attitude is helping anyone?”

Akane blushed, biting her lips, but didn’t say anything. Nabiki just sighed again. Why had she accepted to have that discussion? Ah, yes. Kasumi had asked her to, and Nabiki hadn’t been able to swindle someone else into doing it. Plus, Kasumi had bribed her with homemade lunch boxes with all of her favorites for the next week if she did. That wasn’t money, but it was a good deal.

Truthfully, Nabiki would have liked to stay out of the whole matter and enjoy the show, but given the circumstances… 

“Let’s talk like grown ups, shall we?” the brown haired teenager said after a moment of silent.

Akane snorted. “I don’t see what there is to talk about. And if you think talking is going to change anything about what I feel…”

“Why not?” Nabiki retorted. “A good talk can’t do any harm at this point. Seriously, Akane, you need to stop being so grouchy and calling Saotome a pervert…”

“He is!” Akane snapped.

“... and you better stop calling Dad a pervert too,” the older sister continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. Akane winced, something that didn’t escape Nabiki. Good; at least her little sister had realized she had gone too far on that one. “You really hurt him with that one accusation, Akane. I trust you noticed?”

Akane lowered her gaze, blushing. How could she had failed to notice? The struck, downcast look on Soun Tendo’s face had been hard to forget. Especially since he said nothing, just looked at his daughter with a defeated look and left the dinner table without saying a word. In that one moment, Akane had realized she had been put a foot past the line of what was acceptable. “I did,” she said simply, unwilling to say more. “But he is acting perverted,” she added after a beat of silence. “He’s really thinking about… about marrying Ranma! She’s our age!”

Nabiki tilted her head to the side. “How old is Doctor Tofu, Akane?” she asked suddenly, making her sister sputter and look at her as if she had lost her mind.

“What does this have to do with…?”

Nabiki raised a hand. “I’m trying to give you a lesson here, little sister. I’m not judging you on your crush or anything, I’m just in need of an example and he is convenient. Now, just answer the question, Akane. Do you know how old Doctor Tofu is?”

Akane frowned, thinking. How old indeed? She… had never really thought about it, come to think. He was… older than her and older than Kasumi, but she didn’t think he was past his mid-twenties. Still… “I don’t know,” she finally admitted after a moment of hesitation.

Nabiki looked at her seriously. “Doctor Tofu,” she said slowly and carefully, “is almost 34 years old.” Akane’s jaw dropped.

“But… he can’t be that old! He… he doesn’t look old at all,” she babbled frantically, her mind spinning.

“But he is. I got curious once and I did my researches. You know he had been practicing even before Kasumi got into high school, right? So clearly, he’s older than he appears. I just had to check out his public records to see how old he truly was. That was a surprise. I guess traditional medicine and martial arts help to keep yourself in shape and youthful looking. I guess I should have taken more interest in keeping up with my training as a kid,” she joked before becoming serious once more. “So, he’s easily fifteen years older than Kasumi, which means he has twice our age, sis. And still, you have a crush on him, don’t you? Now, isn’t that ‘perverted’?”

“I… I…” Akane sputtered. Nabiki, acting out of character, patted her hand.

“Don’t worry, sis, it’s not. You’re just getting enamored by someone mature. Take a deep breath,” she instructed her younger sister, who obeyed. “There’s nothing wrong with falling for someone older than you, Akane… or younger. Large age gaps can happen in relationship. Dad marrying someone our age... “ she winced slightly. “It’s unexpected, but there are crazier things out of here, you know. And it’s not like Dad absolutely wants to marry Ranma. I think he would have been much happier if ‘he’ had been a normal boy, so he could become our fiancé instead of a possible step-mother.”

That made Akane frown unhappily. “A fiancé? Ah! I wish she… he had never come at our home!”

“Well, she is here now, and she’s here to stay, one way or another,” Nabiki pointed out as she considered her next angle of attack. “And that’s the problem, is it not?”

“I don’t see…” Akane protested before Nabiki cut her off.

“Akane, we both know what really bother you, and it’s not just because she’s a ‘boy’.” She wondered how her sister would react to the accusation, if she would catch her meaning. Was it wise to try and say it aloud just yet? Nabiki was unsure. Akane could be a real firecracker when certain issues were raised. As she saw her sister’s cheeks reddening, she decided that perhaps another matter should be breached first.

“He…”

Nabiki cut her off again. “Technically, Ranma is a ‘she’, as you should known. You saw her naked enough time to notice her distinctive lack of penis, right?”

Akane blushed. “She… He’s a boy, and he saw me naked,” she defended herself, stumbling over what to call Ranma. On one hand, she had genuinely thought she… he was a girl. On the other, he truly was a boy, even if she… he… didn’t look like it. It was so frustrating and confusing.

“Which was an accident, if you remember right,” Nabiki pointed out. “Walking on other people bathing happens. It’s not fun, and it’s awkward, but it happens. There’s still hot springs where both sexes mingles in the same bath, you know?” She raised an eyebrow as Akane bit her lips. That was something else her sister hadn’t considered. Time to push it further. “Akane, let me ask you something. Do walking on me or Kasumi in the furo make you a pervert?”

“Of course not!”

“Do seeing other girls undresses in the school showers or at the public baths, and them seeing you, make you or them perverts? How about walking on Dad in the furo? Or the reverse? Is Dad seeing you naked automatically make him a pervert?”

“No! It’s… it’s Dad,” she defended herself feebly, something Nabiki could only smirk at. “Dad isn’t…”

“Dad isn’t lusting after you like some of our schoolmates do,” Nabiki finished for her, judging Akane’s embarrassment had been sufficient. “So, even if he sees you naked, it’s not so bad, because you know it doesn’t hold any special meaning. Same thing if another girl see you naked; it’s not so bad, because it’s a girl, and she’s just like you. Sometimes they have smaller or bigger ‘assets’, or wider hips, thicker or thinner thighs, sometimes you get envious and sometimes you gloat as you realize you have a better figure. You won’t deny it, right?” Her younger sister nodded reluctantly. “So, what exactly is the problem with Ranma?”

Akane’s gaze darkened. “You have to ask? She’s… he’s a boy,” she repeated. “And still he shares the girl lockers rooms, and the showers, and… and everything,” she finished lamely.

“The fact she was born a male aside, Ranma is one hundred percent a girl now, if I have to judge by the ‘supplies’ she borrowed from Kasumi two days ago,” Nabiki pointed out casually, and Akane twitched. “And really, knowing how some of our classmates are, would you really want Ranma, as a girl, to share the showers and lockers with the other boys?”

Akane frowned, unhappy. She knew Nabiki was right, and that was part of the problem. Ranma was… whatever he or she was, everyone at school saw him or her as a girl. And she just knew how some of the perverts at school looked at girls. “Of course not. It’s just…”

“Just?” Nabiki prompted.

Akane… blew up. “She’s always flaunting her body around! Didn’t you see how she act?! She’s constantly going around our house with bare breasts or in male underwears! She keeps exposing herself, never minding there are boys or worse, DAD, around! She’s cocky, and brash, and she won’t take me seriously! She lied to me about who she was! And now she’s mocking me, Nabiki! Why else would she ever refuse to spar with me?!”

The older Tendo sister pinched her nose. “Okay, let’s start with the easiest answer. Akane, if you were a boy -- and no, it’s not a joke about your lack of grace,” she added as she saw her sister glare at her. “I’m just asking you to imagine something. Now, you’re a boy. A strong boy on the cocky side, used to drop your shirt to train, or for a number of reason. You won’t think twice about doing so, because there’s no shame into showing off how well muscled you are. Agree?” Akane nodded slowly. “Now imagine suddenly changing into a girl. Your body is now different. You have breasts on your chest. And that’s where the problem start. Despite having a girl body, you still got your boyish habits, including dropping off your clothes if you feel like it. You don’t think for a second there’s something wrong about ‘flaunting your assets’, because you haven’t been raised to think it was wrong. Sure, you might have an inkling it mustn’t be done, but you just… don’t care, or don’t understand why,” she said.

She looked seriously at her sister, who looked pensive now. “I don’t think Ranma really do it on purpose. At least, not to irritate you on purpose. She just hasn’t been a girl long enough to really understand how wrong it is, or why. I seriously doubt her Father helped any,” she grumbled as she thought of ‘Uncle Saotome’ with little fondness. “Modesty for a girl isn’t the same thing as modesty for a boy,” she tried again snapping her fingers to try and gather Akane’s attention. “It needs to be drilled into our houseguest’s head, but once it’s done, I trust it will stop. Happy?”

The black haired girl grunted. “... I guess so.” It made sense when Nabiki explained it. Why hadn’t she been able to think like that? “But she still won’t take me seriously,” she added quickly.

“Again, boy mindset,” Nabiki waved off. “I don’t know how Uncle Saotome raised his child, but he certainly taught Ranma a peculiar set of values. Among which, you might have noticed, ‘boys don’t fight weak girls’. Yes, I know, it’s annoying,” she added at Akane’s dark look. “But that how he was raised to think, Akane. Granted, now that he’s a girl himself, I think he will have to rethink his stand on the question. Perhaps you should try to change his mind, hmm?” she winked.

Her sister blinked. “How?” Nabiki raised an eyebrow. Akane sounded genuinely curious. Had she not considered the idea by herself before? Hmm, if so, she had seriously underestimated her little sister.

“That, sis, is something you better come up with yourself,” the brown haired girl said. “Ah, but you won’t, will you?” she added immediately as she saw Akane bit her lips. “Because if you did so, then it would be like admitting she is better than you, and so more suited to inherit the Dojo.”

“She’s not!” Akane snapped, her fists tightening in her laps.

Nabiki hummed. “Perhaps, perhaps not. That doesn’t change the fact Father and Uncle Saotome think she is -- or rather, that HE is. And by coming here, Ranma Saotome pulled the carpet from under your feet.”

“I…”

“You’ve been training for years, haven’t you, Akane? Oh, Dad started to teach all of us the moment we were old enough to walk, but you’re the only one in this house who truly held any love for the arts, and you threw yourself in it, even more so as you grew up and you realized that someone, someday, would need to take over for Dad. Dad even encouraged you, did he not? You were his pride and joy, or at least it must have felt like it. And then, suddenly, boom,” Nabiki snapped her fingers. “Here he comes, grinning like a fool, and proudly announcing us that a boy we never met, the son of one of his friends, is coming. Not only is this boy supposed to become the fiancé of one of us, but Dad also said that HE will inherit the Dojo along his bride. Except, Ranma isn’t a boy, and now Dad is thinking of marrying ‘her’ and having other heirs. It hasn’t been clearly said, but he’s probably thinking of having sons.” Nabiki looked at Akane once more. The long-haired girl’s fists were almost white. Nabiki never looked at people with pity, for it wasn’t her style, but all the same she felt a strange feeling of kindness with her younger sister.

“That’s what really hurt, isn’t it? Not the fact he wanted to impose us a fiancé, nor the fact he’s thinking about giving us a step-mother, as weird as it is, but the fact that Dad pretty much dismissed your claims to inherit the Dojo. You feel like Ranma’s robbing away your inheritance, even if she’s not even trying.”

“And you don’t, Nabiki?” Akane asked, almost snarling. The older Tendo sister smiled thinly.

“Personally? Not really. As I stated before, sis, you’re the only one who truly thought about taking over the Dojo. I won’t say I’m not worried, because I am; having a stepmother will make Dad rethink whatever plans he may has had for his will, assuming he even thought about the matter before. He could very leave a bigger inheritance to his second wife than to his kids, which would really unnerve me. And don’t make me started on what he could give our potential half-siblings over us.” Akane choked on nothing, and Nabiki smirked. “However, if I’m playing my cards right, it won’t matter. I have my own plans for the future, and they don’t involve the art. But, come to think, you should have seen it coming,” she mused aloud.

“Seen it coming?” Akane was almost seething.

The older Tendo girl sighed. “How to explain? You may not have noticed, Akane, but women in our society don’t usually get far, unless they’re totally committed to their career and so scrap the whole ‘marrying and having a family and children to raise’ thing. In martial arts, especially, there are people who don’t treat women Sensei with the same respect they would a male -- it’s not just Uncle Saotome, you know. Granted, our society is changing, but for people of Dad’s generation, men and women are supposed to have distinct roles in society. Now, I don’t think Dad is THAT old fashioned. The problem is, he also needs to cater to the wishes of people who are. Do you follow me?”

“... you’re saying it’s not against me, but about bringing in students to the Dojo?” Akane asked after a moment of contemplation, eyebrows furrowing.

“Part of it, yes,” Nabiki nodded. “I’m not a martial artist myself, so I can’t judge of your true level, but even if you’re good, the fact you’re a girl may still be held against you by people even more sexists than Uncle Saotome. And those people, Akane, you need to live with, because the Dojo needs money. This is basic business sense here, little sis. Some people come solely to learn the art, and couldn’t care less who teach them so long that person is good. But another part, not a small one by any matter, also come for a certain kind of… ambiance, shall we say,” Nabiki explained in her best ‘exposition’ voice. “Dad knows it -- or at least, he must suspects it. He had run the place for years before Mom died, he had the time to see what some of his students were expecting out of the place. And I guess he decided that having a boy as heir was simpler.”

“But it isn’t fair!” Akane whined, head bowed.

“Fairness has little to do with it,” Nabiki mentioned calmly, although she agreed. If her sister thought it was bad about martial arts, then she had no idea how business truly was at the higher levels. Thankfully, Nabiki did, and she had no intention to let it drag her down. She could only hope Akane would have the same attitude when it came to her beloved art. “But let’s continue. Second point, the joining of the Schools. Now, that one is easy to understand. It’s the easiest way to trade techniques and to teach students in both styles of Anything Goes, or to merge both style into one while making sure nobody will be wronged. From what I understand of the family’s history, it happened more than once across the generations. As both branches of Anything Goes have few students, there aren’t many choices to try and bring them together through a wedding. A pity Ranma was an only child, or that we didn’t have a brother or two. It would have simplified things,” she grumbled.

“So we just have to accept that… that Ranma is going to marry Dad?” Akane asked with a look that said much of what she thought of the whole idea.

“Did I said that?” Nabiki commented airily. “I’m just saying that the argument has a certain logic, as twisted as it is. Ranma as a proper boy, marrying one of us? It was perfect. Not fun, because they sprung it upon us without warnings and without caring about what our own plans for the future might have been, but perfect. I wonder, though, who would have given up his or her name in such an arrangement,” she mused aloud. Given it was the Tendo Dojo, it would have been normal for the husband to take the name of his wife, but from what she saw of Ranma Saotome, she certainly wouldn’t have accepted the idea easily.

She continued. “Dad could gain a male teacher for the Dojo and give in to the traditionalists’ views, while also allowing one of his daughters to inherit from him. The reverse, a Tendo son marrying a Saotome daughter, would have been perfect too. But here’s the problem: Ranma got cursed.”

“So why did they even suggest she… he… she marries Dad?” Akane asked as she reached for her bowl of ice cream. Most of it had melted down by now, but she didn’t care. She needed to do something, anything, and eating sounded fine. “Couldn’t they just, I don’t know… make an alliance through the next generation? Or perhaps adopt someone? It’s still done, right?” she asked after taking a spoonful.

“Opportunity and lack thereof, and fear there won’t be a next generation,” Nabiki stated in level tone. “Adoption is a potential solution, but it's tricky. Sure Dad COULD adopt someone, a son, but frankly, I don't think it occured to him -- and even if he does, he'll have to train him from scratch, which would take years, then Uncle Saotome would have to do the same so whoever the Heir ends up to be is a Master in both branches of Anything Goes. Plus, do you really want to have an adoptive brother?" she inquired dryly, and it was clear she wasn't happy about the idea herself. Akane just looked at her, faintly shaking her head. "But nevermind that; since the problem is centered around Ranma and her curse, then it's the Saotome's ends of the bargain which is in question, so in all logic, they're the one who'd need to adopt. But the problem is, there aren’t that many gifted young people who would accept to be adopted in a family of lower standing -- and the Saotome aren’t that well-off, from the researches I did -- and then we're back to the training problem.” She frowned faintly. "Actually... you know, I'm surprised Uncle Saotome didn't suggest it first; you would have thought it had occurred to him. It's almost as if he doesn't want to consider it at all, but why wouldn't he...?"

She finally sighed, deciding the panda shapeshifter's motivations weren't worth the headache yet. She raised an eyebrow at Akane. “I still give you point to have thought of it, though.”

“That’s not that hard to come up with,” Akane mumbled, her mind frantic as she tried to find a fault in Nabiki's argument. Sadly, her sister's logic was hard to counter for her. “And what about the ‘grandkids business’?”

At that, Nabiki sighed. “You may not have noticed yet, but older people are always eager for grandchildren. Society is pressuring us to marry young and raise families, especially nowaday as Japan’s birth rate is slowly dropping. Dad didn’t say anything so far, because he probably still thinks we’re his ‘babies’” she quoted with a smirk, “but you can bet that in a few years, he’ll do the same and badger us to give him a fews grandkids. Or…”

“Or?” Akane asked, blinking and finding herself curious. Even so, she shuffled nervously. Having kids… she was too young to even consider the idea!

Nabiki didn’t answer, her eyes glazed over as she thought. “Or Daddy thinks none of us will give him grandchildren. In my case, he might be right. I don’t want to become a housewife, and I don’t like little kids,” she stated.

“You, perhaps, but Kasumi or I… Uh,” Akane blinked as she said the ‘I’. Did she want children herself? She tried to think about it, to picture herself with a child in her arms. She just… couldn’t. Because having a child meant having a boy by her side to give her one, and boys were frankly starting to disgust her. Well, not all boys exactly. There were nice ones in her class, and there was Doctor Tofu. But the Doctor was a man, and older than Akane had first supposed.

Her hesitation didn’t escape Nabiki. “Kasumi might have children, but first she’d need to marry, and despite the fact she’s a far more traditional individual than you or I, you’ll notice she never spoke of it once. Granted, she might be waiting until both of us have left the house, but if no opportunity arises? She might just stay home and celibate to take care of Dad. On the other hand, if solitude becomes too much for her, I wouldn’t be too surprised if she wished to enter a Omiai someday… unless someone finally gather his courage and ask for her hand,” she teased. Akane grimaced. “As for you, little sister… I don’t think Dad thought you’d get married if he didn’t arrange a wedding,” the brown haired girl added.

That made Akane bristle, making Nabiki smirk. To be honest, her remark could be taken several ways. “What? Why? Are you saying there’s something wrong with me?” the long-haired girl asked warningly.

“Nope. I’m just saying Dad may have reached the wrong conclusion concerning you,” the other girl shrugged.

“Wrong conclusions?”

Her sister really was naive. “Akane… remember how often you started to shout you hated boys, be it at school or at home? Yeah, yeah, I know, you have your reason ever since the start of the school year, what’s with Kuno-baby’s stupid challenge and the rest of the sport teams following suit,” she said as she raised her hands in defense. “The problem is, Dad doesn’t have the context attached to those words. Sure, he knows you have some troubles at school, but he didn’t try to dig into the matter further. He never does… never did until now,” she added grudgingly.

If anything, the Saotomes’ arrival seemed to have throw their Father out of his usual apathy. It was… disconcerting. Soun Tendo had been left in a very emotional, depressed state after his wife’s death, and it had taken him time before he pulled himself together and started to live normally again. But even so, he remained rather… ‘detached’ from the world at large. He didn’t abandon his daughters or anything too drastic but the man had become so emotional he was hardly the father figure they had needed. Their Father, Nabiki thought coldly, had been weak. She didn’t held that against him, because his weakness had allowed her to grow into what she was and it had given her free reign over his wallet. However, he hadn’t been the role model the three sisters had expected. Plus, as a man, he had had and still had no idea of how to actually relate to his daughters. He certainly wished them well, but he wasn’t a big help. Usually.

Now… he was starting to get out of his shell. He was training, and he was thinking of opening beginners classes. Plus, there had been the money he had given Nabiki...

“I don’t understand, Nabiki,” Akane cut her out of her musing. “So I said I hated boys; I don’t see what Dad might have understood wrong?”

“You don’t?” Nabiki blinked before smirking. “Wow. You’re naive. Think about it, Akane. You’re at a certain age where girls and boys are still discovering himself. You claim you hate boys. That, plus the way some of your female classmates watch you…” she trailed off, wondering if Akane would catch up. Sure enough, after a moment of blinking stupidly, her sister’s jaw dropped open.

“Daddy thinks I’m a…?!” she choked. “But I’m not! I’m not… into other girls,” she said, blushing madly. At least, she was fairly certain she wasn’t into other girls!

“I know, sis, I know,” Nabiki said soothingly. “But you know Dad. He tries to understand, he tries to help, but sometimes, he utterly fails and he jumps at the wrong conclusions.” Which was an understatement, and the reason Nabiki had decided early on that emotions were a weakness she needed to overcome. Her over emotional Dad had always been a model not to follow, in her mind, for said emotions tended to cloud his judgement and his common sense. Something Nabiki wouldn’t allow for herself. “That’s something else you should speak of with him, hmm?”

“Oh, trust me, I will,” Akane grunted unhappily. To think her own Father thought she was a… a lesbian!

“If I can reassure you, the way Kuno-baby keeps dropping at the Dojo challenging Dad might give him a true inkling on why you decided boys weren’t your thing for now,” Nabiki added, resting heavily against the back of her chair, feeling charitable. She herself hadn’t been witness to many of those challenges, but she had heard the neighbors talk -- and she had seen the damages in the garden.

Akane blinked, then facepalmed. “Don’t tell me he’s going to pursue me at home as well?” she asked warily, feeling a mix of annoyance and rage.

That was a good question, and one Nabiki didn’t have a full answer to. She ended up shrugging. “Right now, Kuno is more focused on Ranma and her ‘engagement’ to Dad, but who knows?” She checked her watch before sighing. “Okay, I can’t stay any longer, but I trust our little conversation didn’t fall into deaf ears. Or at least it better not,” she warned, eyes narrowed as she looked at her little sister. “I won’t ask you to like the situation -- hell, I don’t like it either -- but at least try to be polite, for everyone’s sake. With any luck, we might find a way out of this situation that won’t involve Dad remarrying. And if it does…” she trailed off before shaking her head. “Well, we’ll see. Whatever. Just try to be nice over dinner, will you?”

Akane pouted and looked away, but she seemed to have mellowed already and her expression was almost pensive. “I can try,” she finally worked out. “But if Ranma taunts me…!” she warned, fire in her eyes.

Nabiki’s lips quirked. “If she taunts you, then nobody will be surprised if you retaliate. Just try to not make it an habit and tone down the accusations, at least toward Dad, okay?” Satisfied with her sister’s small nod, the middle Tendo daughter left the café in a good mood. There, she had obeyed Kasumi and she had merited her bentô boxes.

Now, it remained to be seen if that sisterly conversation was going to have any impact on the long term, and for that one, Nabiki wasn’t willing to place bets. At least, not just yet...

**Author's Note:**

> **Here's FAQ time (even if no one truly ask frequent questions anyway):**
> 
> Adopting someone into the Saotome (or Tendo) family:  
> A reviewer on ff.net suggested the Saotome could adopt, and if I had plans to address the issue later, I thought I could as well do it now. To be honest, I considered the possibility long before, and it would sure clean up the mess. But Ranma 1/2 is an universe filled with wackiness and people who just don't think things through -- and there'd be no fun if they did. This story is mainly based on crack ideas, though I want to keep a serious undertone here and now. Adopt a son to marry a Tendou girl, and my story is dead.  
> Plus... well, the Tendou engagement isn't the only one Genma has to fill if he can help it. There is, oh, Ukyo, anime exclusives such as Kaori Daikoku (and at least two unnamed girls, if I remember right), Picolet Chardin (... not going to touch this one yet, nope),...  
> Now, Genma might not care about them and have no intention to fulfill them, but Nodoka? She certainly would. Which means that if they adopt a son (or two, assuming they can convince someone to get adopted), and since the Tendou situation is 'stable' if not ideal, they'd push their new son into fulfilling another engagement contract.
> 
> Akane's sexuality and 'pervert' accusations:  
> Let's start with a simple observation; Akane is definitely her father's daughter, because just like Soun, she tends to jump to conclusions very easily. Here, it led to a comedy of errors.  
> First off, I never actually stated Akane is a lesbian or that I think she is in the previous chapters, despite what some reviewers said. Soun did, because he jumped to conclusion after seeing that:  
> a) Akane never brought a boyfriend home, nor talked about having a crush, not even once (which would have been hard, given Kuno, his stupid challenge, the Hentai Horde, and Akane's crush on Doctor Tofu, which was long standing and only resolved in the first chapters of the manga)  
> b) Akane loudly claimed, more than once, to hate boys  
> c) Akane has only girl friends.  
> Without knowing about Kuno's challenge and the Hentai Horde (either because he didn't listen when she complained the first time, or because he never thought it was serious; it's up to debate) and totally lacking context, plus being very awkward at having that kind of conversation, Soun jumped to conclusions. Something which is being corrected as he's getting in frequent contact with Kuno, I must point out.  
> Granted, Akane might be, but if so, then she doesn't know it herself.  
> As for Akane's throwing 'pervert' accusations around... They aren't all directed at Ranma, as seen in this chapter, but also at her own father. Akane is confused; the idea of having an imposed fiancé wasn't fun to begin with, but the possibility to have a step-mother? We know from canon the Tendou sisters aren't fond of the idea, to the point they tried to pass Ranma as their to counter Ms Ninomiya (and I'd lie if I'd said this tibit didn't inspire me). They could eventually accept it... but here comes Ranma. Who is Akane's age. Who was a guy to begin with, and who is now a girl. Who has no modesty. Who is brash and cocky. And who's going to marry their father (eventually).  
> Akane is confused as hell, because it's certainly NOT NORMAL, and if her father wants to marry a girl her age, then he must be wrong... right? (though apparently, it's not so odd in Japan, and socially acceptable so long it's the man who is older)  
> But more than that? Akane is jealous -- and I think that deep down, she might also be in canon.  
> Because the Heir to the Dojo? Is Ranma. When Akane trained for years, thinking she'd inherit. Ranma's mere presence pretty much destroyed some of the hopes she had for the future, and it's a bitter pill to swallow.  
> So she's lashing out.  
> I like to think her relationship with Ranma will improve in time -- after all, she can be a very sweet girl, and her offer to be friend was genuine upon their first meeting. But there'll definitely be rocky moments, and wild accusations flying because, eh, it's an Akane (and a Soun) thing.


End file.
